


Take My Hand, Take My Whole Life Too

by of_iron_and_ice



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Endless love - Freeform, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Just a silly love story, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2018-12-22 23:27:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11977329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/of_iron_and_ice/pseuds/of_iron_and_ice
Summary: The story of Elijah Van Dahl and Gertrud Kapelput, when life was happy and all that mattered was one another.





	1. The Girl in the Window

**Author's Note:**

> In the arched window on the landing there stood a young woman, tall and slender with waves of golden hair past her waist, each curl glinting in the sun which filtered through the glass behind her.

"Elijah!" The last few remnants of peaceful sleep escaped him at the sound of his mother's voice calling from downstairs, accompanied by the smell of cooking breakfast drifting through the crack in his bedroom door. "Elijah, your eggs will have gone cold before you're even out of bed!"

****

With a groan, Elijah peeled his face from the surface of his desk and stretched his limbs; his morning had already begun like many more before it, with his nose buried in a book and slumped over his desk, drooling into the pages. The house was very much alive, with the family dogs chasing one another in the yard and yapping as they played, and pots and pans clattering as his mother cleared the kitchen. How he could sleep through such racket was beyond him, yet he always seemed to manage it.

****

Elijah rubbed the dustings of sleep from his eyes and grumbled, just ten more minutes sleep would be welcomed but there was no calming his mother in the morning. He supposed she was just lonely, with his father resigned to his own bedroom for a vast majority of the time Elijah was her only company, and he took great pride in being the reason for the smile on her face each day. 

****

A grimace contorted his face as he took up his book, now crinkled and soggy as a result of him using it as a pillow. He would have to set it to dry in the garden before it became entirely ruined, he'd been brushing up on hand-stitching methods in the face of the first client he'd ever taken on; an expensive three-piece offered at half the price whilst he completed his apprenticeship. Without the book Elijah would lose his comfort blanket, something to fall back on if his memory fumbled under stress.

****

_ "Elijah!"  _ He startled in his seat and stretched once more, trying to shake the slumber from himself before his mother came marching up the stairs to drag him from his room. She meant well, Elijah knew she was only trying to save him from the same clutches of depression his father had succumbed to in recent months. Some weeks were dreary, with him locked away in his study for days on end, yet they still found comfort in eachother when the darkness in his mind relented. His mother loved him and it meant the world, despite her endless coddling. 

****

With a fond smile and a shake of his head, Elijah rose to his feet and shook the pages of his book, padding barefooted to the door. "Coming, mother!" He took the stairs two at a time, but only made it down the first flight when he was halted in his tracks. In the arched window on the landing there stood a young woman, tall and slender with waves of golden hair past her waist, each curl glinting in the sun which filtered through the glass behind her. 

****

Elijah blinked hard, there was no  _ way  _ the image before him could be real but the more he stared, the clearer she became. She was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, and as she turned to meet his stare he was rendered frozen to the spot, breathless and unable to form a single thought. A smile and a simple wave of her hand was all it took to knock him senseless and he blushed from the tip of one ear to the other. 

****

_ Who are you?  _ He wanted to ask but the words would not come, instead he gawked at her whilst she absently shook her head and laughed, returning to her work with a jovial tune on her lips. After a short moment more, Elijah gathered enough sense to scurry past her and haul himself down the stairs as quickly as he could; the girl had reduced him to nothing short of cowardice with a mere glance and he could hide his embarrassment no longer. 

****

A barrage of questions swirled in his mind as he rounded the corner to the kitchen, joining his mother's side with thoughts of breakfast forgotten. "Good morning, mother. T-there is a  _ girl  _ in the window, did you know?"

****

"Of course I know, sweetheart." She pressed a kiss to his forehead and turned to put away the dishes, laughing cheerfully at Elijah's surprise. It wasn't often the family had guests and this one in particular had caught him entirely off guard. "Gertrud is our new help around the house. With your father secluding himself and you with your work, this house is far too big to manage on my own."

****

_ "Gertrud.."  _ With a nod, Elijah trailed off and glanced toward the door, half expecting her beauty to come gliding in to grace them with her presence.

****

"Elijah Van Dahl, I know that look in your eye," His mother chastised half-heartedly and his attention snapped right back to her. "I'll warn you now not to get involved. You're destined for great things, my boy, I won't have a servant girl hindering your progress. That family will pull our name through the dirt and besides.. She hardly speaks a lick of the English language."

****

_ Doesn't she know by now that forbidding something only makes it more desirable?  _ "Oh? Where is she from?" Her warning hadn't doused his curiosity any, if anything he only wanted to know more about the mysterious girl in the window. 

****

"The girl's family are living in Austria from what I can gather." Plates and cutlery were put away as she continued her speech, uninterested and clearly growing tired of this conversation already. "I don't know why she chose Gotham for means to begin her own life but each to their own. She seems quite the free spirit, I'm telling you Elijah, she'll bring you nothing but trouble." 

****

"Yes mother. Of course."  _ Anything to get you off my back.  _ Gertrud  _ seemed  _ sweet enough, she had been polite enough to offer a wave and a smile without first knowing him and that didn't seem like the negative light his mother was obviously trying to paint her in. It couldn't hurt to at least speak to her, perhaps if he got to know the girl she'd prove his mother wrong and he would in the very least be able to talk with her openly. 

****

Those were notions for later, Elijah thought as he seated himself at the table for breakfast. He had the rest of the morning to seek the mysterious Gertrud out and speak with her, if only he could speak German.

****

~~

****

_ "Found it!"  _ Several hours later found him in the small library, tucked away privately in the back of the house. Elijah had been searching tirelessly for what he was certain would be hidden amongst the shelves somewhere, a small pocket dictionary on how to speak the German language. It was only polite to make the effort and welcome Gertrud into their home, even if it was only temporary. He licked his thumb and used it to turn the page to 'Greetings', a bright smile lighting up his face as he found just what he was looking for.  _ Good morning is at least a start.  _

****

Without a moment's hesitation Elijah tore through the house and up the stairs, peering around every doorway in search of the mysterious beauty from earlier. He would call her name but didn't want to appear too forward, they hadn't even formally met yet and calling out for her as he bounded down the corridors hardly seemed fitting. 

****

He eventually found her perched on another window ledge, lifting the smudges put there previously by his own hands as he lounged there with a book. She was just as beautiful as when he'd seen her this morning, still humming a happy tune as the folds of her summers dress swayed about her knees. 

****

"G- guten morgen." The words came stammered and almost too quiet for anyone to hear, but as the girl hopped down from the window with a beaming grin on her face he  _ knew  _ he'd made the right decision.   
  
"Sprechen Sie Deutsch?!" She exclaimed and bounced on her toes before him, blue eyes glittering with excitement.  _ Perhaps.. Not the best idea.  _

****

Elijah stood blank and blushing, floundering for a response as he tugged the pocket dictionary from his back pocket and frantically flicked through the pages. "Uh.. uhm.. I.. I'm sorry I don't speak.." With a defeated sigh, Elijah's shoulders dropped. He was entirely too scatterbrained to find what he was looking for in the tiny pages, she had yet again rendered him unable to function. 

****

He waved his hands through the air and tried to convey what he was saying in over exaggerated movements, though he doubted they would do any good. "I.. me uh.. English?"

****

"I know that you speak English, silly boy. Then why  _ don't _ you speak it?" Gertrud teased with a grin and Elijah's heart skipped a beat, his face flaming with embarrassment.  _ Her English sounds just fine to me.  _ His mouth hung open, her dazzling eyes fixed on him and a fond smirk on her face which just transfixed him. Everything about the girl was captivating, her cerulean blue eyes, her lips, her  _ voice.  _ And to think his mother wanted to keep him away from her,  _ why?  _

****

"You're very pretty." Elijah blurted before he could stop himself, if it was possible to blush any deeper than he already was then that certainly did it. Gertrud's eyes widened as a flush of her own spread quickly across her cheeks alongside a growing smile. "I- I'm sorry, how forward of me, I just couldn't help but notice-" 

****

"It's quite alright." The girl stepped closer to him and her dazzling smile only grew, Elijah was rooted to the spot and completely unable to react in any other way than stare.  _ How is it that a simple smile can have such an influence on me?  _ "You're very handsome yourself, even if you are still in your bedclothes at almost noon." 

****

With a small gasp, Elijah glanced down at himself and then back up to her. How had he not realised this sooner! Gertrud looked so stunning in her pretty summers dress and here he was, introducing himself in old striped pyjamas! " _ Oh _ , I didn't-" 

****

"And you have crumbs and yolk on your face." Gertrud giggled and came closer still, until she was but inches away from him. She lifted a delicate hand and swiped away whatever food may have lingered on his face with her thumb, stealing his breath along with it. "There.  _ Much  _ better. I knew you were handsome under all that mess."

****

His nerves were so much, that Elijah hadn't even registered he was standing awkwardly and in silence. "Master Van Dahl?" Gertrud ducked her head to meet his gaze and snapped him from his internal daze, reducing him to a stammering mess.

****

"You.. you don't have to call me that, you know. My parents employ you, not me." An unreserved smile spread across Elijah's features to match her grin, and her brows raised as if she was waiting for some unspoken answer. After a few moments of the two just smiling at one another she tilted her head with a flutter of eyelashes.

****

"Well?"

****

"P-pardon?" Elijah's smile slipped and he wrung his hands together nervously;  _ had she asked a question?  _ For a moment he was worried that perhaps he'd been so dazzled by her that he'd been temporarily deafened to all else around him. But even with him reduced to the mess of nerves that he was, a tinkling of laughter reached his ears as she stepped away from him to take up the rag again and resumed cleaning the window.

****

"If you do not want me to call you Master Van Dahl, what  _ do  _ I call you?" Azure eyes glanced over her shoulder at Elijah and he tugged on the hem of his pyjama shirt, stretching out the creases so he at least appeared  _ somewhat  _ presentable. "Or should I choose a name myself? You look like your name should be Aldo. Or.. Swain. _ " _

****

" _ Swain? _ I- no, that isn't even close."  _ What strange names to give to a person.  _ Elijah grinned and shook his head, perching on the windowsill and gazing up at her, hoping for just a moment more of her attention. "What sort of name is  _ Swain?" _

****

She glanced down at him and ruffled the top of his hair playfully with a chuckle. "You are so  _ young.  _ That is the meaning of the name."

****

Elijah's face pulled into a frown and he huffed, cheeks burning brightly. Did she think him a child? "I am  _ not  _ that young. I'll bet I'm older than you are."

****

"I am twenty. And you?" Gertrud threw a smirk in his direction, but hardly fixed her attention on him for long.  _ Ah. Perhaps then I  _ am  _ young.  _ She was too caught up in her work to pay him much mind, much to his dismay.

****

"Then you only have two years on me, you speak as if I'm a child."

****

"Ah, eighteen. As I said, you are so young!" Gertrud twirled halfway and dropped from the ledge to sit beside him, her chin propped on her shoulder as she smiled sweetly at him. Any bitterness at her teasing fell away the instant those eyes met his own and he felt himself drowning willingly in those pools of sea green. "But no, I do not think you are a child. You are a very handsome young man." She leaned in close as if her lips would part with some secret of great importance and Elijah's entire body tensed, her warm breath fanning over his face.  _ "But you still haven't shared with me your name.  _ Unless you would like me to go on calling you Swain?"

****

With that she bounced to her feet and snatched up the rag, folds of dusted blue skirt swaying as she climbed the next flight of stairs.  _ Say something, you idiot!  _ "My name is Elijah!"

****

"I still think Swain is a better fitting!" Gertrud threw a teasing glance behind her, and though he rolled his eyes there was no containing the smile which painted across his features. "Until next time, Elijah. I will see you very soon, I'm sure! Perhaps next time you will be dressed?"

****

Before he could form a response, Gertrud had vanished up the stairs and Elijah was left alone with the promise of seeing her soon! The morning had already begun far better than any he could think of, and as he padded back to his room in a daze he couldn't keep the smile from his face. 

****

She'd said he was handsome, and Elijah was almost  _ certain  _ she had been flirting with him even with breakfast on his face and in his pyjamas, his hair sticking out in all awkward directions. He was determined that the next time she saw him, he would be ready for it; dressed in the fine clothing he usually sported and looking more than presentable. 

****

With a happy sigh, Ejijah flopped back onto his mattress and ran a hand over his face, smiling up at the ceiling. There was no doubt that his mother would put an end to this before it could begin, but who said she had to find out at all? After their brief encounter Gertrud occupied his every thought, and he couldn't  _ wait  _ to see her again. 

****  
  



	2. Chapter 2

With a frustrated huff, Gertrud thrust her comb against the tabletop and fixed her reflection with a pout. How was it that any other day, her hair would fall in perfect ringlets about her face with minimal effort, yet the one day she _wanted_ to impress, it was nothing but a nest of unruly curls.

During her time in Gotham as a young woman, Gertrud had been subjected to countless stares and less than savoury words from men. It was something she had never had to deal with, yet _here_ it had become almost a daily occurrence.

So it had come as no surprise that the boy from yesterday had looked at her the way he did, only this was different. There was nothing untoward in his stare, only innocence and that adorable sparkle of wonder. Elijah was sweet and clearly thoughtful enough to greet her in her own language, even if that hadn't entirely paid off.

When Gertrud glanced back up at her reflection, she met a fond smile and pink-tinged cheeks. How odd that a stranger was having this effect on her, even when he wasn't around! “Silly girl.” She scolded herself and with a gentle shake of her head, resumed fiddling with her golden strands in a futile attempt to make it sit right.

“Oh, forget it.” Tears of frustration began to prickle, and Gertrud finally gave in to her cursed hair. But what now? She couldn't go to work, to see that _boy_ with a halo of frizz sitting on her head! Gertrud rummaged in the top drawer of her vanity and snagged some hair ties, pulling every strand back from her face and scrunching it behind her.

Her parents had made the journey from Hungary only six years prior, with very little money and even fewer possessions. After two years her mother had grown so homesick that it was affecting her health, but even Gertrud saw there was nothing for her in the quiet village she was raised in.

A young woman, and she was living the American dream! Or at least that’s what she was _told_. At sixteen years old, she worked a seedy bar and slept in any hostel that would accept her measly wages. Men had spat at her, assaulted her and touched her in ways she would never welcome, but still she knew that her hard work would pay off. She would come out on top, and her dream of becoming someone in the greatest country in the world would become her reality.

Gertrud chewed on the inside of her lip and turned her head this way and that, tugging ringlets loose about her face until she was somewhat satisfied. “It will do. _I suppose.”_ She sighed and slapped her hands down on her thighs as she stood, shaking her head at her own stupidity. All this for a boy she scarcely knew!

“Good morning, Mrs Weiss!” Her words were almost a song as she skipped down the stairs two at a time and snatched her keys from the hook beside the door, and in her absent mindedness she almost tripped over the resident cat Duchess, who only turned to her with a seeming glare.

The woman she had been staying with for the past six months was cheerful, plump and always feeding her with homemade treats. Gertrud was lucky that the lady hardly took a penny from her, opting to let her earn her keep with household chores and keeping her company in the wake of her husband's death.

“Oh, good mornin’ sweetheart! How did you sleep?”

“Very well, thank you. But I'm afraid I have to skip breakfast this morning.”

“Why, dear? Are you sick?”

“Oh, no! I spent so long in the mirror this morning that I lost track of the time, I'm going to be late for work!”

“Why so much effort? Wait-” She turned from her cooking and fixed Gertrud with a beaming grin. “Don't tell me. You met the Van Dahl boy. Elijah, right?”

Gertrud’s eyes instantly widened and she gaped like a hooked fish as she searched for an answer, her cheeks blazing. “I- perhaps, I- I mean..”

“I'll take that as a yes. He's handsome, that one. And so sweet! Do you know he once helped me search near enough the entire city for Duchess a few years back, and I never even had to ask him.”

“Oh.. he seems like such a gentleman.” _He’s too good for you Gertrud._ “But he is also very young. And very wealthy. He would never look at me, not seriously, in any case.”

“Nonsense!” Gertrud startled as the woman all but squeaked the statement. “You’re a gorgeous lookin’ girl, and you got a kind heart. And that accent of yours? Beautiful. If you want him, I bet you already have him hooked.”

“I don't know about that Mrs. Weiss.” She ducked her head with a blush and twisted her keys in her hands. Her gaze only lifted when she felt gentle hands cupping her cheeks. “I should get going.”

Mrs. Weiss gently shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Alright. I have somethin’ for you, wait here.”

And with that she waddled off, rummaging in the drawers in her living room. Gertrud’s eyes darted quickly to the clock, she only had an hour to walk to the mansion, and it was just under an hour away. Perhaps she could gain some time with shortcuts, and if she ran-

“Here we go!” Her host reappeared clutching a lilac ribbon to her chest and sporting a wide smile. “I saw you in that pretty lavender dress and the memories just came floodin’ back. I wore this, first time I met Ernest. And it matches your dress almost perfect!”

“Oh I couldn't possibly!” Gertrud raised her hands in protest, it was too sentimental of a possession to be wearing to clean an old house! “Please, it’s a lovely thought, I wouldn't want to lose it.”

“It won't get lost, honey. It'll be all tied up in those lovely angel curls of yours.” With nimble fingers, she brought the ribbon around the back of Gertrud’s head and fashioned a bow on the top-left hand side. “Perfect. He won't be able to _resist_ you now.”

Without further thought, Gertrud wrapped her arms around the woman’s middle and enveloped her in a hug. “You’re too kind.” She began speaking before her voice cracked and tears began welling, the woman had no obligation to be kind to her, but here she was offering an object of such sentimental value just to make Gertrud happy.

“Aw, it’s nothin’ sweetie! Old girl such as me doesn’t have much need for ribbons and the likes.” Mrs. Weiss shifted her palms up and down Gertrud’s back before giving two sharp pats, pulling out of the embrace with a huff of laughter. “C’mon now, you’re gonna be late for work!”

“You’re right.” Gertrud sniffed and swiped her tears away, giggling at her own foolishness. “I had better get going. Thank you, Mrs. Weiss. For this, for all you do for me.”

“Don’t you mention it. Now go! Get moving!” She shook her head and laughed as she turned back to making breakfast, leaving Gertrud to bounce out of the door with a beaming smile.

For the first time Gertrud took the country path, among the wildflowers and through trees which arched overhead and provided shelter from an unusually sunny day in Gotham. Gone were the rainclouds which usually blanketed the sky, replaced by white cotton-clouds and blue skies.

By the time she reached the old mansion, it was with a renewed confidence in her decision to stay, mornings like these were few and far between but they always made it worthwhile.

“Good morning, Mrs. Van Dahl!” Gertrud beamed as her new boss pulled open the door, already dressed in her finery and expensive jewellery at such an early hour. This was who Gertrud strived to be, a woman with class, with poise and the ability to command an audience with a single glance.

As intimidating as the lady of the house was, Gertrud would not let it dull her spark, and she would continue to greet her with as much enthusiasm as the first time they’d met.

“Ah, Gertrud! Good morning. I was beginning to think you weren’t coming today.”

“O-oh! But is it only..” Gertrud quickly checked her watch and snapped her attention back to the woman, eyes wide and fearful. “It is not yet ten! I was almost certain you said ten-thirty, I-“

“Never mind.” Gertrud was dismissed with a wave and led through to the kitchen, and she almost tripped over her own feet in her haste to keep by her side and save from further embarrassment. “Now, today I’d like you to scrub the floors downstairs and take the dogs for their walk.”

Nodding frantically, Gertrud clasped her hands behind her back, twisting in her attempt to get her nerves under control.

Mrs. Van Dahl led the way down the hall toward the lounge, and as Gertrud scurried behind her she caught sight of the boy she was trying so hard to impress, peering over the banister and sporting a mess of unruly bed hair yet again.

He was staring again, and a smirk tweaked the corners of her lips before she lifted her gaze to meet his, giving a delicate wave in his direction. _He is so handsome!_

Elijah’s cheeks instantly flushed as he slowly raised his hand in greeting and followed her with his stare, seemingly in a daze. It was the most adorable reaction and Gertrud had to suppress a giggle, but as she turned her attention back to her employer, any trace of a smile was wiped from her face.

Her brow was pinched and her lips pulled into a tight line as she scowled at Gertrud, heels clicking against the floorboards as she stepped closer.

“My son is busy with his studies.” Her voice lowered to almost a whisper, and Gertrud’s face fell as she halted in her tracks. “You’d do well to remember, that whilst you’re here you’re at work. Get on with your assigned duties and don’t distract Elijah from his own work. Do we have an understanding?”

“Y-yes Mrs. Van Dahl, of course!” Gertrud rushed to comply, her heart hammering wildly. The witch was terrifying, and the _last_ thing she wanted to do was cause her further upset. “The floors and your dogs, is there anything else you would like me to-“

“That’s all for today.” The words came abrupt and with a glare, and Gertrud only nodded as her new boss stalked past her. _What’s ruffled her?_ With a quick call up the stairs to bid goodbye to Elijah, she was out the door and gone, leaving Gertrud I’m welcomed silence.

“Wow.. she _really_ doesn’t like me.” Gertrud sighed to herself and snatched up the scrubbing brush, her features pinched into a disappointed frown. But banging and clattering around from upstairs soon changed that; perhaps she wouldn’t have to go looking for the boy at all, not if he came to her first.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn’t sure whether the POV switch would be a good idea, what are your thoughts? If you’d prefer either point of view, or if you’d like me to keep alternating chapters please let me know! 
> 
> Thank you for reading <3


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